Even though it can look pretty dirty, there are parts of your engine that need to remain clean. These enclosed areas rely on air and fuel to fire up your engine and keep it running until you shut it off. The air that flows through your engine and the gasoline you use to fill the tank are naturally filled with contaminants that can damage your engine. George Automotive Services advises this is why your vehicle has a handful of filters that need to be changed regularly.
Cabin Air
Let’s talk about you, first. You rely on fresh air blowing into your cabin to keep you alert behind the wheel, cool in the summer, and warm in the winter. Without a cabin air filter, the air blowing through the vents would be filled with contaminants, dirt, pollens, and other irritants. The cabin air filter ensures that you have clean and fresh air blowing through your vents at all times, and it should be changed every 30,000 miles.
Engine Air
As we said above, your engine relies on air in order to fire up and run. Air and fuel mix to create a propellant that is ignited by the spark plugs. This action creates combustion, which is what your engine needs to operate. Air is drawn into the engine through your vehicle’s grille. This air must be cleaned in order to prevent damaging the combustion chamber. The engine’s air filter is what cleans the air, and it should be changed every 12,000 miles.
Fuel
Your fuel is actually filtered twice. It runs through a filter before it is drawn into the fuel pump, and it runs through a filter before it is pumped into the engine. The fuel filter can get clogged by the sediment that is found naturally in gasoline. This is why it’s important to change the fuel filter every 30,000 miles. If you haven’t driven 30,000 miles in two years, you should schedule a service to have the fuel filter changed then.
Oil
Finally, your motor oil is changed every 3,000 miles, or longer if you have synthetic oil in the engine, and your oil filter should be changed at every oil change. This ensures that the filter does not become clogged by the engine grime that the oil picks up as it circulates through the working parts. The oil filter is unique in that it filters out the oil after it has run through the engine rather than before.
George Automotive Services in Danville, PA, can check your automotive filters to let you know which ones need to be changed right away and which ones have more miles on them. Call us today to schedule an appointment.
